In a media scrum following the UFC 160 post-fight press conference last month, White told reporters that he would like to see Penn call it quits when it comes to mixed martial arts (MMA) competition, asserting that the Hawaiian is “too tough for his own good.”

“B.J. is too tough for his own good,” White said. “B.J. might not get knocked out, but the shots that B.J. took would have knocked out a normal human being. He’s had his head bounced off the canvas like a basketball by Matt Hughes, Georges St. Pierre and Rory MacDonald just did it to him. B.J. Penn has left that Octagon looking like a fucking alien. He’s too tough for his own good. You don’t knockout B.J. Penn — he absorbs every amount of punishment you give him. It doesn’t mean he hasn’t taken any damage … he’s taken a lot of damage. And I don’t want to see him take any more.”

Those statements apparently didn’t deter the former lightweight and welterweight champion, who on Tuesday (June 4, 2013) got the word out that he isn’t done yet and a return to the Octagon at 155 pounds could be in his future.

“The door is still open for BJ Penn to return to MMA in the future,” Ariel Helwani reported on the most recent edition of “UFC Tonight” on FUEL TV. “He’s actually training right now and has to check in with his body and mind in the next few months.

“If he does come back, it will be at 155 pounds.”

Penn (16-9-2) has remained quiet since suffering a lopsided three-round beat down from Canadian sensation Rory MacDonald at UFC on FOX 5 in Dec. 2012 for what was his fourth defeat in six fights.

The 34-year-old has not registered a victory since a 21-second knockout of Matt Hughes in Nov. 2010 and has not competed in the lightweight division since coming out on the losing end of a two-fight championship series with Frankie Edgar.

No potential opponents were suggested for Penn if he does in fact decide to fight again; however, given his history and resume there is little doubt he would settle for anything less than elite opposition.

The injury bug has struck an upcoming Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) heavyweight contest slated to take place this summer.

Shane Del Rosario, who was expected to face Dave Herman at UFC 162 on July 6, 2013, has been forced off the card due to injury and will be replaced by former divisional title challenger Gabriel Gonzaga.

UFC officials announced news of the switch on Friday (May 31, 2013) evening on Twitter. The nature of Del Rosario’s injury was not revealed.

Herman (21-5) is in a do-or-die situation after returning from rehab, a stint that was required by UFC after he failed his UFC 153 drug test for marijuana (details here). In addition to having lost three straight fights inside the Octagon, it was the second time in his ZUFFA career that “Pee Wee” tested positive for the drug.

Gonzaga (14-7) is also in need of a victory after suffering an underwhelming first-round knockout loss to Travis Browne at The Ultimate Fighter 17 Finale in April.

The defeat snapped a three-fight win-streak for “Napao” and despite claims of illegal blows to the back of his head, the result of the fight stood.

At 34 years old, Gonzaga will need to bounce back with a sharp performance if he hopes to stay employed.

Herman vs. Gonzaga will take place on the preliminary portion of the UFC 162 fight card, which is expected to broadcasted on FX and streamed via Facebook.

UFC 162: “Silva vs. Weidman” is headlined by a middleweight championship contest as top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter and longtime 185-pound kingpin Anderson Silvaputs his title on the line against undefeated “All American” Chris Weidman.

He’s back! But is he better than ever? UFC veteran Tyson Griffin will write a new chapter in his combat sports career when he debuts with World Series of Fighting (WSOF) this August against an opponent to be named.

Former Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) lightweight contender Tyson Griffin, who was bounced from the world’s largest mixed martial arts (MMA) promotion after missing weight and getting knocked out by Bart Palaszewski at UFC 137 in late 2011, is the latest ZUFFA castaway to find work outside the Octagon.

See the first poster for the upcoming UFC 162 pay-per-view (PPV) event on July 6, 2013, in Las Vegas, Nevada, which features a 185-pound title fight between division champion Anderson Silva and No. 1 contender Chris Weidman.

UFC 162: “Silva vs. Weidman” is headlined by a middleweight championship contest as top-ranked pound-for-pound fighter and longtime 185-pound kingpin Anderson Silva puts his title on the line against undefeated mat rat Chris Weidman.

Ariel Helwani during the Daily Line said that people made a lot of BJ going into that fight injured, but he said that Edgar had to go to the hospital after that fight for a staph infection he already had. Can anyone confirm this to be true because this is the first I’ve heard of this?

jiujitsu100
Posted: 18 hours ago
Member Since: 1/1/03
Posts: 1142

Yes Frankie had staph infection, it came up really badly a few hours after the fight and someone had to take a cab into Abu Dhabi to get medicine for him. I know, I was there as Ricardo Almeida was trying to arrange the medicine..

“I like the way Kenny Florian fights when he’s not fighting for a title. [He] comes in with a completely different game plan and fights not like Kenny Florian when he’s fighting for the title. I think he’s got a title mental-blockage. If Frankie beat B.J. again, yeah, that would probably be a good thing for Kenny. We’ll see how this whole thing shakes out.”

UFC President Dana White comments on the career performances of perennial number one contender Kenny Florian, who is booked to face Gray Maynard in the promotion’s Boston debut at UFC 118 at the TD Garden on August 28. “KenFlo” has been to the mountain top twice before, coming up short against Sean Sherk and BJ Penn. Outside of those losses, he’s 11-1 with 10 finishes inside the Octagon. Does he have a “title mental-blockage?” Or were Sherk and Penn just that much better than him at the time of their championship bouts?